Bio

Hi, I’m Eleanor Shannon, an American wine sommelier and writer.

I’ve been living in Italy since 2004. I didn’t come here to marry an Italian man or renovate an Italian farmhouse. Instead, I’ve had a long term love affair with Italian wine, food, culture, history and the Italian language, which I speak fluently.

Italy is quite a distance from Charlottesville, Virginia, where I was born and grew up, but my favorite books were always about travel and adventure. At Dartmouth, I studied abroad and majored in French literature and European history. After working for a major consulting firm, I concentrated on international business at Harvard Business School and went to work for the World Bank in Africa. Then, I went back to my roots to teach business at the University of Virginia.

Years later after having and raising three children, I began studying and teaching Italian in the summers at Dartmouth. Through a Tuck Business School connection, I went to Milan to help found an honors program for Italian university students. After four years, I left teaching to become a professional wine sommelier (Association of Italian Sommeliers), joined an English speaking writing group, began writing a wine column, and completed yoga teacher training.

In 2014, I created Uncorked In Italy and continue to write all the content myself. The deeper I got into writing the blog, the more I wanted to share my experiences with Italian wine, food, culture and history.

My life is an ongoing adventure, and I hope that my experiences will help you craft your own authentic adventures in Italy.